3 Reasons Why The Drop Shot Works So Well (In Clear Water)

Once a tightly held secret of western anglers, the drop shot has revolutionized bass fishing in clear water. It’s so effective at generating strikes from clear water bass that any time there’s a major tournament on a clear water impoundment – you can bet someone in the top 5 will be predominantly drop shotting.As a result, there’s been a boom in production of tackle designed for the technique. From rods to reels and a whole host of baits – everyone is cashing in on the drop shot rig's effectiveness.Along the way, there hasn’t been nearly as much discussion as to why it’s so effective.Here are three reasons, and they all have to do with the separation of weight and bait...

1. It’s subtle

Imagine you’re a bass in one of today’s pressured reservoirs. You’re sitting on the end of a point and are bombarded day in and day out by an armada of jigs, Carolina rigs, and Texas rigs – all dragging the bottom. You’ve probably been fooled before and have the sore lip to prove it. All of a sudden a little worm drops into view and instead of hitting the bottom it stops and subtly dances in your face. You’re probably going to eat it.Instead of kicking up sediment and making a ruckus, the drop shot provides the ultimate in subtlety, which is something that pressured bass can’t resist.

2. It presents the bait differently

If you take a look at all the traditional presentations out there, you’ll notice they all have one thing in common. The weight is attached to the business end. Whether it’s a jig, Texas rig, wacky rig, or shakey head; the hook is no more than a couple inches from the weight.Well, weights sink, which means that the bait will sink right along with it, keeping the whole package on the bottom. By moving the weight to the end, a drop shot presents a bait from a different perspective than other rigs.How many baitfish actually scoot along in the bottom sediment like a Texas rig? Keeping the bait off the bottom makes it more visible, which is something that attracts more bass and it gives them a different look than all the other baits.

3. You can control it

The last benefit of the drop shot is it’s the only presentation with which you can move the bait without moving the weight. If you shake a Texas rig or jig, it’s going to rock forward and move out of the strike zone.With a drop shot, the weight anchors it on the bottom and you can make the bait dance without moving. This is what makes the drop shot especially deadly on bedding bass. Imagine pitching a finesse worm like the BioSpawn PlasmaTail onto a bass bed, once the weight’s in the center of the bed, you can shake and wiggle the worm until the bass absolutely can’t resist it.